Recommendations in Wales

From a trip to Wales and southwest England that my husband, Jim, and I took, here are some recommendations of low-cost lodgings.

• The Manor Town House (11 Main St., Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, Wales, SA65 9HG, U.K.; phone 01348 873260) — in an excellent in-town location. Parking garage nearby.

Wonderful room and breakfast. £85 (near $134) a night, double (Sept. 15, 2011). Young, enthusiastic owners, Chris and Helen Sheldon. We highly recommend it.

• Chatcoombe House (20 Rhyd-y-Defaid Dr., Sketty, Swansea, Wales, SA2 8AH, U.K.; phone 01792 207100) — in a residential area but very close to The Mumbles.

Hospitable couple in a private home. It’s on a major but not noisy street and is set off from the road enough. Four stars! Some rooms have facilities en suite. Comfortable bed. Free WiFi. Double, £60-£65. Included very good breakfast. (Sept. 16).

Swansea is not exactly crawling with tourist accommodations.

• Out of the Blue (698 Mumbles Rd., Mumbles, Swansea, Wales, SA3 4EH, U.K.; phone 01792 361 616) — an excellent seafood restaurant in The Mumbles.

With the fish entrées at £10-£12 each, our dinner for two cost $87, including two beers for Jim, cider for me, swordfish for Jim, lemon sole for me, veggies and potatoes plus, for dessert, Eton Mess (meringue, whipped cream and fruit — really, really good).

• Greyhound Hotel & Inn (Llantrissent, nr. Usk, Monmouthshire, Wales, NP15 1LE, U.K.; phone +44 [0] 1291 672505 or fax 673255) — off a major highway. Established as country inn in 1845, this charming inn was originally a 17th-century Welsh longhouse with a stone stable block (now comprising the rooms).

The rooms are comfortable but not fancy, each with en suite bathroom, TV, telephone, radio, hair dryer and tea/coffee-making facilities. Including breakfast, single rooms cost from £58 ($91) and doubles from £78 (Sept. 17-18). We booked through a woman at the tourist info office in Caerphilly.

Good dining room. (Owner Nick Davies is also the chef.) No Sunday p.m. meals, but they sent us to an excellent pub, Nag’s Head (4-6 Twyn Square) in Usk.

Usk is a good location for southern Wales sightseeing.

• Eyarth Station (Llanfair DC, Ruthin, Denbighshire, North Wales, LL15 2EE; phone 01824 703643) — Jen and Bert Spencer, proprietors. Located outside Ruthin, it was once a train station (hard to believe because it seems a little off the beaten track, but they have pictures). Mid 20th century, Wales shut down many railroads.

Very nice rooms with lovely view. Double, £75 ($118) a night. Great breakfast room with large windows overlooking countryside. Swimming pool (but too cold in September to use it). Good parking. Highly recommend.

• Lamorna Lodge (Boskerris Rd., Carbis Bay, St. Ives, Cornwall, England, TR26 2NG, U.K.; phone 01736 795967), run by Richard and Joanne Neil. Good location, one bay over from the main town of St. Ives and convenient to Penzance, Land’s End, Lanhydrock and other Cornwall attractions.

All rooms are quiet. Some have beautiful sea views. We had a sea-view double room (£100) for two nights, then they were full, so a garden-view double (£75), pretty small, the third night. (Sept. 21-23.)

MARY L. HAYES
Chapel Hill, NC